Joao Felix is the most laughable of all Chelsea signings

Chelsea have reached an agreement with Atletico Madrid for Joao Felix. But why?

A guy with 41 caps for Portugal at the age of 24 who cost £120m five years ago and played regularly for Barcelona last season: the reported £36m sounds like a bit of a bargain. And if almost any other Premier League club had signed him, we would be tipping our hats. But Chelsea? Again, why?

Barely 24 hours earlier, before their season had even started, Enzo Maresca was fielding questions about the future of a forward already on the Chelsea books who had detailed his frustration at not playing football.

Raheem Sterling should not have left Manchester City and was ill-advised by his ‘camp’ ahead of Chelsea’s clash with his former employers, but while Maresca presumably thought the first signs of dressing room unrest might come slightly later in the season, Sterling shed early light on an inevitable problem for the new head coach .

Sterling watched Sunday’s defeat in a strop at home while Mykhaylo Mudryk and Noni Madueke saw no minutes. Cole Palmer, Nicolas Jackson and Christopher Nkunku started as the front three while Marc Guiu and Pedro Neto – their forward signing of last week – made their competitive debuts from the bench.

That’s as they attempt to find buyers for Romelu Lukaku, David Datro Fofana and Armando Broja, loan options for Deivid Washington, Guiu and Angelo, and something – anything – to do with £18m summer signing Omari Kellyman.

Oh, and they’re still supposedly in talks with Napoli over a deal for Victor Osimhen.

Even if that doesn’t happen and assuming they get the unwanted players off the books, the best (or worst) case scenario sees seven forwards remaining for Maresca to choose from.

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Cole Palmer has to start, and if he persists with Enzo Fernandez in the attacking midfield role (which he shouldn’t, but can’t not because he cost so much and Romeo Lavia looked excellent alongside the other £100m+ midfielder, who also has to play), then Maresca essentially has six forwards for two positions.

If he wants to play a Proper Striker, or at least the closest likeness to one, then Jackson will start, which means he has five players vying for a start on the left wing.

We’re being a tad flippant; let’s say Noni Madueke – if he stays – acts purely a back-up for Palmer. That still means three of Mudryk, Nkunku, Neto and Felix won’t get a game because there is no space in the team for them. No wonder Sterling voiced his concerns.

Game-time frustrations and dressing-room atmosphere challenges considered, we would still sort of get it if Joao Felix was too good an opportunity to pass up. But they know exactly what they’re getting having seen it first-hand: another skilful but ultimately underwhelming forward who adds to the raft of options who flatter to deceive and struggle to do the one thing that remains the bane of their Premier League existence: finishing chances.

They actually wanted Samu Omorodion before his move collapsed courtesy of their ‘disrespect’ . Felix is more an indicator of their obsession with the pure profit to be gained by Conor Gallagher leaving for Atletico Madrid rather than proof of any real desire for the Portugal international’s return.

He might be fine, good even, a successful signing perhaps. But for that to be the case, at least two, more likely three, possibly four of the signings made in the Todd Boehly-Clearlake era won’t have been, because it’s impossible to give that many players sufficient opportunity to make the required impact dictated by their hefty transfer fees and ludicrously long contracts.